City to Replace 60 Benches
Irritated that private bus bench contractors have ignored their requests for repairs and relocations, Torrance City Council members Tuesday decided to spend $20,000 to replace 60 commercial benches with city-owned models.
The plain, blue city benches will carry no commercial messages “to enhance the aesthetics and image of the city in certain strategic high-visibility locations,” Transit Manager Ray Schmidt said in a report to the council.
City officials will replace roughly 10% of the city’s 600 existing commercial benches with the new models at a cost of about $18,000. The proposal also assumes an advertising loss of about $900, because the city is paid roughly $15 for each bench advertisement.
Money for the bus bench program will come from the city’s share of the county’s half-cent transit sales tax.
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